Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP and ex-cricketer Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday voiced his opposition to the Punjab Government's bulldozing of properties of drug smugglers, claiming that "bulldozing is not the solution."
During a media encounter, Harbhajan Singh mentioned, "All those involved in drug dealing ought to be arrested. I believe, however, that demolishing one's home is not an option. I am against demolition of buildings."
He explained, "If someone has built a hut for themselves, it must not be demolished. No matter how they got the property, if someone poorer than them has a roof over their head, it must not be destroyed. While it is necessary to go and tell them that what they are doing is harmful, demolition is not the solution. It is not right to demolish a house in which seven or eight individuals live. There are better methods of solving this problem," said the politician-turned-cricketer.
When asked about drug smugglers who usurp government land illegally to make it their homes, Harbhajan Singh replied, "Usurping government property is not an easy job. If someone has done so, the government should retake it. But demolition is not the solution."
Harbhajan Singh is the first public figure to speak out against the destruction of the assets of drug smugglers in Punjab, with opposition parties not speaking out against the action of the government. The government has characterized this move as a "stern measure" aimed at breaking the drug business in the state.
This is not the first time that Harbhajan Singh has gone against his party line. In January last year, he had declared that he would go to the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram's idol in Ayodhya on January 22, saying, "I will go, irrespective of whether others want to go or not. It is not my concern if the Congress wants to go or not; I will surely go."
